PDI Being Reclaimed for No Reason - No New PDIs Available

blairedanny · ‎07-09-2026

I have received emails stating my PDI will be reclaimed tomorrow, with no reason given. It is not due to inactivity as I use my PDI every day. I know that PDIs are unsupported and can be reclaimed whenever SN feels like it. My concern is I have coworkers who have stated they have been on a wait-list for a PDI for months now and I don't want to be in that same situation. If I have had a PDI for a significant amount of time, and utilizing it daily, once it's auto-reclaimed will I get priority on getting a new PDI?

Dr Atul G- LNG · ‎07-09-2026

Don't worry—this is quite common at the moment.

Over the past few days, many community members have reported delays when requesting a PDI. In some cases, the waiting period has been 2-3 weeks or even longer, especially for lower ServiceNow versions.

You can try requesting an instance on an earlier release, such as Zurich or an older version, but there may still be a waiting period due to high demand.

For now, patience is the best approach, as PDI availability depends on overall demand and ServiceNow's infrastructure capacity.

Latest update: I heard from community members that PDIs are now being provisioned more easily and quickly. You may try cancelling the current waitlist request and submitting a new request again.

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Regards
Dr Atul G. - Learn N Grow Together ServiceNow Techno - Functional Trainer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dratulgrover
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LearnNGrowTogetherwithAtulG
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View solution in original post

blairedanny · ‎07-11-2026

I guess I need a better explanation of what "You must log in directly to your PDI." actually means. I do log in and I do things like run fix scripts and update items.

I wish SN could tell us exact activities that count toward keeping your PDI.

ralvarez · ‎07-13-2026

@blairedanny same experience here, and honestly I could not get a straight answer either. I logged in directly and worked in the instance after the email, and it was still reclaimed. My working theory is the list was frozen when the notifications were sent, so logins during the notice window had no effect.

Either way I stopped trusting the login as protection and just keep an exported backup now. After the reclaim I requested a new instance, got one immediately, imported my update set and I was right back where I left off.

If it helps anyone, the tool I use for that is on Share (free), but the real point is to have a backup you can import on a fresh PDI whatever method you use. https://developer.servicenow.com/connect.do#!/share/contents/3108109_instance_backup

ctsmith · ‎07-13-2026

Yep, same here like everyone else. I started getting the reclamation warning last week even though I was regularly in my PDI. So, every day they warning email would arrive, I'd log into my PDI. Then, still... reclaimed. Not a huge deal work wise since my stuff was backed up but now I'm on the dang waiting list. I tried to leave the waitlist and try a new request... same result; back on the waitlist--though I'm sure further back in the line now.

Just curious... do non-interactive sessions count? I was thinking of using my PDI MCP server to hit the instance daily and perform actions as the sys admin (If I ever get off the wait list). I'm going to guess the answer is no, but thought I've got the right people in this room to ask for sure.

Luiz Lucena · a week ago

To be honest, lately it is being such a great waste of time trying to develop in PDIs, either it becomes unavailable for weeks due maintenance, or when it is available, it runs so slow that is basically impossible to do anything good.

ServiceNow created the rules and they are the ones that doesn't follow their own rules.

I understand there is no support, I understand there are costs associated in maintaining the infrastructure for PDIs, however, how can people develop stuff if they cannot even use it?

It takes time to install the plugins we need to develop some stuff, to prepare a PDI to demo to our business parties, sometimes we work as sales rep for ServiceNow, helping the company to retain their own customers, and for what price? We followed the rules, lately I was working on the PDI basically every day, even though the alert was sent and two days after, it was reclaimed anyway.

It's frustrating.

I'm with you.